The former UFC welterweight champion discussed his upcoming fight with Neil Magny, cutting weight and retiring:

If the UFC spoke to Hendricks about moving to Middleweight for his fight at UFC 207 after missing weight at UFC 200

“They just put it at welterweight. Here’s the thing, a quarter of a pound, yeah it’s still missing weight, but it’s still a quarter of a pound. And if I had to move to middleweight to do a fight over a quarter of a pound to do a fight, then that’s what I gotta do, but they didn’t say anything. Because I think, really, a couple of the guys that are UFC guys thought that it broke (even) whenever I was on 171.”

What Johny means buy UFC guys thinking his weight broke even

“Yeah so on a beam scale, it’s just gotta break. Meaning that when it touches the top of the scale, if it breaks, then you make weight. That’s how you make weight. But they’re not the people who are getting to judge it. So just because they may want me to make weight, who knows. And that’s, like I said, you live and die by the scale, but a quarter of a pound, I’m not even worried about it because right now I’m under 200. I’ve still got 10 weeks to train until my fight. I’m taking it more serious, and the reason why I want to do that is because whenever I get there, I still want to lose ten pounds like I did last time – I think I had to lose like 12 or 13. This time I want to lose 10 pounds because I don’t think it’s going to hurt me now that we have so much time to gain weight back. If I can be 10 pounds over, I’ll still be able to get to 186, 188 and fight, and I think that’s a great fighting weight for me.”

How hard it was having a conversation with his wife where she criticized what he looked like in his last fight

“Here’s the thing, you’re not going to meet a tougher critic than myself. Listen to my interviews that I did right after that fight. That’s not the guy who won the belt, that’s the guy who’s just in the motion. That’s the guy that’s just sitting here, he’s waking up, doesn’t wanna do a different job, he likes his job, but he’s not competing at his full potential. That’s what fighter has been out there and that’s the guy that y’all have seen in the last two fights. And now I’m over the point where, hey guess what, I thought it was a good conversation to have because here’s the thing, if my wife is not behind me, then I’m not gonna be at my full potential either. I’m a firm believer in that. I think that as soon as you get married you become one and the good lord makes me have to listen to what she says as well. And that’s really why I hold her values to a higher standard as well. When she tells me something, I sit there and say, alright, then this is what we gotta do. Then we talk about it – alright, what do you have to do to become a great fighter again or to perform like I should? One; I have to become an athlete again. With four kids, my wife is running around like a chicken with her head cut off. She is everywhere. She has four different soccer practices a week – we play soccer on Saturdays, my girls play soccer on Sunday – that’s not even counting having a six-month-old boy that she has to lug around everywhere. So not only does she have to get four kids ready, but she’s gotta get three of them to soccer games on Saturday and then on Sunday has to control three kids and get another one to soccer practice as well. So what we compromised is, on the weekends I will be dedicated and everything, but I have to become a little bit more selfish. Meaning that whenever it’s training time, I say, ‘I have to train these times, I have to train’. It puts her in a bind, it does, but that’s where I know that I can trust her and that she’s going keep it at home. And these last couple of fights, I didn’t want to travel. I didn’t want to do anything. I wanted to work out. So technically, my last two fights I’ve only been working out once a day, five days a week – and that’s if I don’t travel somewhere. So I was only working out once a day (for) my last two fights. Now I’ve already started two-a-days. I’ve been going back to Oklahoma State, doing all those kind of things. I’m sort of asking myself, what got me to the championship? And what got me there is the mental aspect that wrestling gives me and that coach (John) Smith gives me. My coaches here, Steven Wright and Tony Cabello, they do an amazing job, but the mental aspects that I need, that I want to compete with (is in) wrestling. You can’t beat wrestling.”

If Hendricks still plans on retiring if he loses his fight at UFC 207 and if there’s a scenario in which he losses where he could still fight again

“No. No. I’m not gonna be the guy that just fights to make money. The money aspect is whatever. If want to fight, I want to be the best I can be. And in those last two performances, I told my wife, I said, ‘if I have another fight like that, I’m done. I’m not performing to my best ability,’ and I really do believe that and I think I got over that hump. I think the hump was that I was just going through the motions. I was okay with where I was at, I was satisfied. I was satisfied with being a UFC champion, I was satisfied with being in the top ten. You can’t be satisfied in this sport. The only thing I can think of is I want to win, I want to win, I want to win. I’m done being satisfied. And if I go out there and I lose another fight because I don’t pull the trigger, I don’t fight to my full potential, well guess what – I’m done and I’m not going to continue to do that and put my wife through me being gone a lot and all those kinds of things, just to do something that I enjoy. Because realistically, yeah I love training, I love training the art of Mixed Martial Arts, I love learning, but I can do that without getting punched in the face (laughs). But I think with the mindset I have right now, retiring is not in my future. Cause right now a lot of people are probably saying, ‘is Johny washed up? Is he done? Is he going to lose this fight and he’s going to retire?’ Right? That’s probably what a lot of people are thinking, ‘Johny was something’. But I still believe I can be, and I had to get that mind frame back. I had to get that mind frame back, that hey, I still have things I can do with this sport, I can still go out there and win a championship. Now how do I do this? By busting your butt every day, waking up sore, can’t move. That’s what it takes, in my mind, and that’s what I’m doing right now. There’s times that you wake up, your body’s aching so bad, but I just look at myself and I say, what do you want to be? Do you want to be a guy who loses this fight because you’re tired and sore, or do you want to be the guy that everybody goes, ‘dang, he made a 180’? And that’s really what I’m trying to do right now. I’m trying to tell myself that I can make that 180, this is how I do it.”

“Whenever I go out there and I don’t fight the best that I can or perform the best that I can, I take it to heart and I question, ‘do you want to do this’. I don’t need somebody to tell me, ‘hey Johny, you didn’t look that good’. Yeah, I do have those guys, but they usually soften up because I’m like, ‘dude I looked like crap’. There’s no way that I would’ve won a championship fighting the way that I just had in my last two fights. And I’m not saying nothing against those two guys, the other two guys were tough. But in my mind, I’m just not fighting the way I know I can. And that’s what I have to get back to. And guess what? If I can’t, then it’s time to say, hey, Johny you tried it and it’s just not in your path. Maybe the good lord has something else planed for me. And that’s really my faith is that the good lord blessed me with a lot of things and he blessed me with two national titles, he blessed me with a UFC championship and if I never get back to it, the good lord is gonna lead me in another way where I can reach kids and maybe I can turn them into what I was. That’s what I’m looking at.”

Thoughts on Neil Magny as a performer and if height and reach is a problem for him

“No. I fought Carlos Condit, you know, he’s a tall guy. I’ve fought some other guys who are tall, and even Stephen Thompson. Whenever I fought him, like I said, the first minute was going my way. But as soon as I got into my mindset that I was going to stand in the middle, you come fight me, I can’t have that. So guess what? If I’m Neil Magny I sort of follow the gameplan that Stephen Thompson did – use your range, use your distance and try to get me flustered. So guess what? What did I do the first minute with Stephen Thompson? I used angles, I used angles, I kept moving. It was hard for me, don’t get me wrong, you’re going to get punched, but nothing landed cleanly because I was constantly moving. That’s what I have to get back to. I have to sit there and say, alright, here’s the what I have to do. I’m training two different ways, because Magny does like to come forward, he does like to put pressure on you. Now if that’s the case, I think it’s going to be a great fight, because I’ve fought taller guys, I’ve been able to hurt taller guys and I’m okay with that. But let’s say that he tries to mix it up and say it’s not going the way I want it to and I need to use my distance. That’s sort of the fight that I’m also preparing for as well. And like I said, that’s something that I didn’t know about myself. So what if someone does flee? Do you lose your cool like you did against Stephen Thompson? Well yeah, I did. So how do you fix that? You get guys who are gonna do that, that are gonna run, that are gonna sit there and use their length and fight a style where you get flustered, you start overanalysing things and you stay still. So if I’m Magny, I look at that and I say, that’s what I’m gonna try. I’m gonna try to keep him at bay, make him where he has to analyse this and that. And so for me, I’m thinking, alright, I use my footwork, I use my quickness, I use my explosiveness. That’s how I beat Neil Magny.”

Message to all of his fans and doubters

“I’m to the point that my wife might even say, I win this fight and she says, ‘Johny, I don’t like you being gone, I’d love for you be home more,’ and I say, ‘alright baby, I’m gonna do it’. I literally don’t care what’s next. I don’t care about anything. I’m literally at the point in my career where I am taking it one fight. Nothing matters after December 30th. Right now, December 30th is the only thing on my radar, nothing else. And I even have people that are like, ‘hey, what are you gonna do’? I’m like literally, ‘December 30th’, and Coach Smith is one of the guys that sort of told me that. He’s like, ‘Johny, take it one fight at a time, you’re spreading yourself too thin. You need to get back to what you did prior and what you need to do is you need to focus on this guy and only this guy. Nothing else in this world matters except for this guy’. And that’s really what I took to heart and that’s what I’m doing.”

Prediction for how he beats Neil

“I see myself winning. I’m going back to the old ways. I’m gonna try and start finishing people. I’m gonna let my left hand go and that’s really what I’m looking at. I want to go out there and I want people to fear my hands again, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

]]>http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/11/02/bigg-rigg-discusses-his-retirement/feed/0Salaries, Medical Report For UFN 82http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/10/salaries-medical-report-for-ufn-82/
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/10/salaries-medical-report-for-ufn-82/#commentsWed, 10 Feb 2016 23:00:00 +0000http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/10/salaries-medical-report-for-ufn-82/Now that UFC Fight Night 82 has come and gone, it’s time to check on the numbers. Below are both the fighter salaries and medical suspensions, as provided by the Nevada Athletic Commission. The fighter salaries do not include any type of locker room, sponsorship or bonus money, and the suspensions can be cleared in […]

Now that UFC Fight Night 82 has come and gone, it’s time to check on the numbers.

Below are both the fighter salaries and medical suspensions, as provided by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

The fighter salaries do not include any type of locker room, sponsorship or bonus money, and the suspensions can be cleared in most cases by a doctor.

Stephen Thompson: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)

Johny Hendricks: $100,000

Roy Nelson: $125,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus)

Jared Rosholt: $33,000

Ovince Saint Preux: $102,000 (includes $51,000 win bonus)

Rafael Cavalcante: $42,000

Joseph Benavidez: $118,000 (includes $59,000 win bonus)

Zach Makovsky: $19,000

Misha Cirkunov: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)

Alex Nicholson: $10,000

Mike Pyle: $106,000 (includes $53,000 win bonus)

Sean Spencer: $17,000

Josh Burkman: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)

K.J. Noons : $34,000

Derrick Lewis: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)

Damian Grabowski: $17,000

Justin Scoggins: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus)

Ray Borg: $18,000

Diego Rivas: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

Noad Lahat: $17,000

Mickey Gall: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

Mike Jackson: $10,000

Alex White: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)

Artem Lobov: $13,000

Stephen Thompson needs clearance of right ankle X-rayed, and if positive then clearance by an orthopedic doctor or no contest until Aug. 7; minimum suspension until March 8 with no contact until Feb. 28

Jared Rosholt needs clearance of left ankle X-rayed, and if positive then clearance by an orthopedic doctor or no contest until Aug. 7; minimum suspension until March 8 with no contact until Feb. 28

Ovince Saint Preux needs clearance of right ankle X-rayed, and if positive then clearance by an orthopedic doctor or no contest until Aug. 7; minimum suspension until March 8 with no contact until Feb. 28

Rafael Cavalcante needs clearance of right eye by ophthalmologist or no contest until Aug. 7; minimum suspension until March 8 with no contact until Feb. 28

Josh Burkman must get MRI on right shoulder and needs clearance by orthopedic doctor or no contest until Aug. 7; minimum suspension until Feb. 28 with no contact until Feb. 21

Diego Rivas needs clearance by orthopedic doctor for both knees or suspended until Aug. 7

Noad Lahat suspended until April 7 with no contact until March 23

Joseph Benavidez suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 for left eyebrow laceration

Alex Nicholson needs clearance on “bilateral jaw fractures and broken nose by oral maxillofacial doctor or suspended until May 8; minimum suspension until March 23 with no contact until March 8 for left eyelid laceration

Sean Spencer suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8

K.J. Noons suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 for laceration on left fifth finger

Damian Grabovski suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 for laceration on scalp

Johny Hendricks suspended until March 8 with no contact until Feb. 28

Roy Nelson suspended until March 8 with no contact until Feb. 28

Ray Borg suspended until March 8 with no contact until Feb. 28 for tough fight

Artem Lobov suspended until March 8 with no contact until Feb. 28 for left upper eyelid laceration

Thompson continued his march towards challenging for the belt, connecting early in the first round to gain the win.

In the co-main event, Roy Nelson capped off a run of three consecutive main card decisions with a victory over Jared Rosholt. Ovince Saint Preux and Joseph Benavidez each did the same vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Zach Makovsky.

Misha Cirkunov did not give Alex Nicholson a present following his proposal on Friday, submitting the Octagon newcomer in the second round. Mike Pyle kicked off the main card with a third round TKO of Sean Spencer.

Mickey Gall earned his future meeting with former pro wrestling superstar Phil “CM Punk” Brooks by submitting Mike Jackson and Alex White began the night with a decision over Artem Lobov.

Pyle and Spencer earned “Fight of the Night,” with Thompson and Rivas picking up “Performance of the Night” bonuses. All four scored an additional $50,000.

The attendance inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena was announced at 7,422 with a live gate of $1.435 million. The event was expected to be UFC 196 featuring Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight title, but that bout was scrapped due to injuries.

]]>http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/07/ufn-82-recap-winners-bonuses-numbers/feed/0Complete UFN 82 Weigh-In Resultshttp://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/05/complete-ufn-82-weigh-in-results/
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/05/complete-ufn-82-weigh-in-results/#commentsSat, 06 Feb 2016 01:20:08 +0000http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/05/complete-ufn-82-weigh-in-results/Check out the complete results from Friday’s UFC Fight Night 82 weigh-ins below. In the main event, Johny Hendricks collides with Stephen Thompson, while Roy Nelson and Jared Rosholt square off in the co-main. Both Hendricks and Thompson weighed in at 170 pounds each. For “Bigg Rigg,” it cleared the first hurdle in his pursuit […]

]]>http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/05/complete-ufn-82-weigh-in-results/feed/0A Replay Of “Countdown” To UFN 82http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/05/a-replay-of-countdown-to-ufn-82/
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/05/a-replay-of-countdown-to-ufn-82/#commentsFri, 05 Feb 2016 13:00:00 +0000http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/05/a-replay-of-countdown-to-ufn-82/Check out a replay of “Countdown” ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 82 event. The 20-minute long program features a look at the main event between welterweight contenders Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson.

We are left with an event set to air live on FOX Sports 1 instead of pay-per-view this Saturday night with former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks facing Stephen Thompson from Las Vegas and the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

]]>http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/02/03/up-next-ufc-fight-night-82/feed/0FS1 New Home For UFC 196http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/01/26/fs1-new-home-for-ufc-196/
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/01/26/fs1-new-home-for-ufc-196/#commentsTue, 26 Jan 2016 23:50:56 +0000http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/01/26/fs1-new-home-for-ufc-196/Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson will headline the upcoming UFC 196 card, but it won’t be on pay-per-view. Instead, officials have moved the main card to FOX Sports 1 after the planned headline fight between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight title was scrapped. Werdum was set to […]

Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson will headline the upcoming UFC 196 card, but it won’t be on pay-per-view.

Instead, officials have moved the main card to FOX Sports 1 after the planned headline fight between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight title was scrapped. Werdum was set to defend vs. Stipe Miocic, but the champion also bowed out recently.

]]>http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2016/01/26/fs1-new-home-for-ufc-196/feed/0“Bigg Rigg” Talks Possible GSP Fighthttp://fiveouncesofpain.com/2015/12/26/bigg-rigg-talks-possible-gsp-fight/
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2015/12/26/bigg-rigg-talks-possible-gsp-fight/#commentsSat, 26 Dec 2015 18:00:00 +0000http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2015/12/26/bigg-rigg-talks-possible-gsp-fight/Johny Hendricks has heard all the rumors of a potential Georges St-Pierre return to MMA. For the time being, Hendricks is leaving them at just that as he prepares for a 2016 encounter with Stephen Thompson. However, if the former welterweight champion would decide to step back inside the Octagon, “Bigg Rigg” would gladly welcome […]

Johny Hendricks has heard all the rumors of a potential Georges St-Pierre return to MMA.

For the time being, Hendricks is leaving them at just that as he prepares for a 2016 encounter with Stephen Thompson.

However, if the former welterweight champion would decide to step back inside the Octagon, “Bigg Rigg” would gladly welcome him.

“GSP might come back (laughs). If GSP comes back, guess who wants to meet him? This guy,” he said, during a recent interview on Submission Radio. “So there’s a lot of things that can come into play by the time my fight gets here, and that’s really what I’m looking at. It might take two. It might take two, it might only take one fight, but I always prepare for the worst. It might take two fights, and then by the beginning of next year I might fight for the title again, good lord willing. Or hey, something even better, I can go out there, I can finish ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and I can get the next title shot. You just never know.”

Despite all that, a fight with GSP would not be one Hendricks would take over competing for the belt he once wore. Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit square off in January for the title.

“It’s more important for me to fight for the belt. Because here’s the thing, if GSP does come back – it’s sort of funny, the rumors started to happen whenever I sort of got pushed in the back and everybody thought I was going 185. And so realistically, the last what, two months the rumours started popping out? So realistically for me, it’s always the belt,” he said. “Like I said a long time ago, the reason why I trained for GSP and I wanted all these things with him, is because he had the belt. Right now, it’s training for Robbie Lawler or Carlos Condit, whoever wins the next belt, wins the next match. That’s all that matters for me.”

Hendricks (17-3) was scheduled to meet Tyron Woodley earlier this year, but issues with cutting weight scrapped the bout. He has won six of his last eight overall.

Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks plans to remain at 170 pounds moving forward despite being forced out of his most recent planned fight with weight issues.

Hendricks has hired nutrition coach Louis Giordano to help him, fulfilling a requirement by UFC officials if he wanted to fight again at welterweight.

Earlier this year, Hendricks vs. Tyron Woodley was scrapped after “Bigg Rigg” was forced to the hospital while cutting weight.

Below is the complete release regarding the hiring of Giordano:

Johny Hendricks has begun his quest to win back the UFC welterweight championship by acquiring the services of renowned weight management specialist Louis Giordano aka Loutrition. Hendricks, who has been cutting weight since his days as a young wrestler, has decided to make a change after being forced to withdraw from his bout against Tyron Woodley at UFC 192 due to an intestinal blockage and kidney stone attack while cutting weight.

“I decided to contact Lou upon hearing about the offer he made during a recent interview,” said Hendricks. “I read the article and knew that all I had to lose was my time. We spoke on the phone and decided it made sense for him to come out to Texas. From the very start I felt very comfortable with him as did my wife Christina and our daughters. I am looking forward to making the necessary lifestyle changes needed to reclaim the UFC welterweight title. I believe working with Lou will change my game and make me even more dangerous.”

Giordano has been working with many athletes and mixed martial artists, most notably, Eddie Gordon and UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling. His belief is not in cutting weight, but managing it. He is against drastic weight cuts as well as rehydrating via IV. With determination, hard work and will power, Giordano has helped change the lives of many. After witnessing fighters struggle to cut weight, he decided he needed to help in order to save fighters from suffering any long-term effects from their weight cuts.

“I have been a big fan of Johny Hendricks since he came into the UFC,” Giordano stated. “I witnessed Johny struggle with his weight cuts and truly wanted to help him change his views on cutting weight. After I did the interview where I offered to work with him on a trial basis for free, we connected through an intermediary. I told him about my philosophy and what I could do to help him. I flew out there this past Thursday and spent a lot of time with Johny and his family. Not only has Johny agreed to make a lifestyle change, so has his wife, who is extremely supportive and dedicated to making all of their lives healthier. I look forward to watching Johny compete at an optimum level and achieving great success in and out of the cage.”

]]>http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2015/11/25/bigg-rigg-to-stay-at-welterweight/feed/0Mike Dolce Says Johny Hendricks Should Take “Six Months”, Dedicate Himself to “Healthy Lifestyle”http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2015/10/08/mike-dolce-says-johny-hendricks-should-take-six-months-dedicate-himself-to-healthy-lifestyle/
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2015/10/08/mike-dolce-says-johny-hendricks-should-take-six-months-dedicate-himself-to-healthy-lifestyle/#commentsThu, 08 Oct 2015 12:00:00 +0000http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2015/10/08/mike-dolce-says-johny-hendricks-should-take-six-months-dedicate-himself-to-healthy-lifestyle/It remains to be seen what unfolds in the career of Johny Hendricks, following his disastrous weight cut last week, but his former coach Mike Dolce has some ideas on what “Bigg Rigg” needs to. Hendricks was supposed to fight Tyron Woodley last weekend at UFC 192, but encountered some serious issues while making weight, […]

It remains to be seen what unfolds in the career of Johny Hendricks, following his disastrous weight cut last week, but his former coach Mike Dolce has some ideas on what “Bigg Rigg” needs to.

Hendricks was supposed to fight Tyron Woodley last weekend at UFC 192, but encountered some serious issues while making weight, and had to pull out of the fight. It was a huge setback for Hendricks, considering he’s been campaigning for a title shot all year, and likely would have locked up one, if he beat Woodley.

It also was a huge deal since the welterweight bout was to be featured on the main card, and afterwards, Dana White said as as far as he’s concerned, Hendricks is now a “middleweight.”

Hendricks has had trouble making 170 in the past, which is part of the reason he’s used the services of the nutritionist Dolce. The former champ has also admitted in recent months that he can no longer put on a lot of weight in between fights.

Well, Dolce recently appeared on “The MMA Hour”, and while doing so, he was asked about Hendricks’ weight. Here is some of what he had to say about the issue, as well as the idea Hendricks needs to move to 185 (quotes via MMA Fighting.com):

“I wouldn’t say that first, simply because Johny is 5’8, 5’9 on his best day,” Dolce said. “At 185, he’s fighting [Luke] Rockhold and [Chris] Weidman. That’s much more dangerous, getting hit in the head by Chris Weidman, I think, than Johny taking six months and truly dedicating himself to living a healthy lifestyle.

“This is more important than sport,” Dolce added, before referring to the fact that Hendricks needs to keep his weight down in between fights. “It’s more important than Johny Hendricks’ career. Johny has a much longer life to live after this sport and he needs to do the things that are in his best interest and the best interest of his health. And that’s getting his lifestyle in order. He needs to start cleaning up his diet, his lifestyle and living a much healthier existence. Then, he can think about fighting at 170 again.”

It will be interesting to see what goes down. While Hendricks and his team might argue the fighter has been staying in better shape in between camps, it is hard to picture him competing at 185.